More Than Just Music: Uses and Gratifications of NetEase Cloud Music Among EDM Fans in China

Over the past few years, the music industry in China has been witnessing two major shifts: whilst the prevalence of music streaming services are taking music digitalization and mobilization to another level, the rise in popularity of EDM (electronic dance music) is another striking phenomenon. More specifically, the genre not only has been appearing frequently on the domestic music charts, a good number of renowned EDM festivals and artists have also been participating actively in the flourishing EDM event scene across urban China. It is noteworthy here that the online EDM streaming in China is often associated with NetEase Cloud Music (NCM) – a music streaming platform that provides abundant EDM-related services, and NCM is often seen as a hub for EDM lovers and artists to interact. To find out the reasons behind this phenomenon, this thesis explores the uses and gratification of NetEase Cloud Music among EDM lovers in China. Situated at the theoretical intersection of uses and gratifications research, music streaming studies and EDM studies, this research fills the knowledge gap of existing studies by presenting great insights into the uses and gratifications of one of the biggest music streaming services in China and sheds a light on the ever-growing domestic EDM market. By conducting 12 semistructured interviews with users located in 9 different cities, this qualitative study evaluates the factors including the usage, the motivation of use, the perception of the role NCM plays in the domestic EDM market, etc. Evidence is found in this study that users can derive satisfaction from the convenience utilities, which encompass the user-friendly layout, gigantic music library, multi-functionality and easy music discovery. Besides, the social features of the platform also play crucial roles in terms of user gratification, as they enable users to express their opinions on music by sharing the music to other social media platforms (mostly WeChat), commenting and instant messaging. On top of that, the NCM’s annual music report custom-made for its users is highly appreciated by the majority of the respondents, as it is more detailed compared to other music streaming services. Moreover, NCM is also being used as a platform where users can learn more about music genres, the background of music and music production techniques. Another noteworthy outcome is that the actions of downloading music, arranging digital collections and consuming copyrighted music can create and increase the sense of digital music ownership, hence generating greater user satisfaction. NCM is also being used by musicians to publish and promote their own music, while monetary rewards can be acquired from the platform. Furthermore, the platform is being perceived as a trend-setter and a gatekeeper in the domestic EDM market in China, exerting a great impact on the EDM trends. However, some respondents claimed that the influential role of NCM can lead to the formation of an imbalanced market – as it is more likely for NCM to promote renowned musicians or sponsored music, some talented artists that are unknown in China might be neglected. Furthermore, NCM also fosters EDM talent by hosting dance music competitions. Finally, based on the information gathered during the interviews, the EDM label owned by NCM also provides EDM production classes online and offline, which proves that NCM is dedicated to becoming the leading figure in the market.